Colour books always spark a sense of wonder and imagination.  Jillian Tamaki encapsulates all of this wonder in her book They Say Blue.  Winner of the Governor General’s Literary Award for Children’s Literaturethis book is filled with descriptions and colour and Jillian Tamaki’s whimsical illustrations.

They Say Blue is a feast for the eyes.  Lyrically written, it’s easy to share this book with a big group of people.  A poem taking us through the seasons and the colours in the life of the narrator.  Readers will gain inspiration and will be transported into a world of creativity from the story. They Say Blue lends itself to a writing activity about colour.  One of my favourite writing prompts is to finish the sentence, “The colour ______ makes me think of…”. I love to read and hear what children think of when they imagine different colours.  Jillian Tamaki has taken that prompt and created a beautiful lyrical story/poem that flows from one colour to the next; one season to the next. The narrator describes her day and her world in all of the colours they see painting a vivid picture for the reader.

We love Jillian Tamaki’s illustrations.  Done in black ink with watercolour to fill in all of the delightful colours in the story, readers can draw inspiration for their own art in the pages of this book. Our favourite part of any of Jillian Tamaki’s books is the transformation illustration. She includes this brilliant transformative illustration where one object shape shifts into another. It the case of They Say Blue the narrator turns into a tree. It’s a fun element we look forward to in all her books.